Nutritious recipes for picky toddlers

760 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by USAmma, Apr 11, 2006

USAmma

Discussion Starter · Apr 10, 2006

Feel free to add your own! I would love more ideas!

My dd is learning how to eat slowly, some days are better than others (see her story in my sig). I just posted about how I love the Magic Bullet blender for making purees for her, but I wanted to share some because I know toddlers are tough customers to feed sometimes!

Nitara's nutritionist wants her to have 24 grams protein and 1100 calories per day, as well as fruits and veggies and a balance of carbs and stuff, of course.

"Milky Juice"

In a blender add:

1/4 cup frozen concentrate juice OR 7 oz prepared juice
2/3 cup powdered milk
3 T heavy whipping cream
1 dose children's liquid vitamin (optional)
6 oz of water, if using concentrate juice

Blend and serve. It has approximately 450 calories depending on the type of juice used. Nitara likes orange-strawberry-banana. It has 16 grams protein and 15 grams fat. It's not thick like traditional smoothies.

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Nut butter banana pudding

2 T nut butter (soy, almond, sunflowerseed, peanut, etc)
1/2 banana
1.5 T honey
1/4 cup oatmeal baby cereal (if serving as a pudding or puree, otherwise skip)

Add about 3 T water and blend. I use a Magic Bullet blender. You can also mix by hand but it won't be as smooth.

Total: 400 calories, 8 grams protein, 16 grams fat. Makes about 5 oz.

When prepared as above, it can be served as a pudding or puree baby food. If you leave out the oatmeal you can spread it on bread or toast. If you add more milk to total 8 oz you can serve it as a smoothie.

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Peaches and Cream Dessert

1/2 peeled peach or 4 slices of canned peach*
1/4 cup baby oatmeal cereal
2 T heavy whipping cream
touch of cinnamon for peaches
* can also use pears or mangos

Cover the fruit with water or canned juice, add other ingredients, blend and serve. Approx 250 calories, 10 grams fat

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Nitara's Spinach/Cheese Biscuits

1 1/2 C Bisquick mix*
1/2 C milk
1 C finely chopped fresh spinach
1/2 C cheddar cheese
1 egg
a bit of salt

*I realize that a lot of people don't like to use Bisquick but it is very soft and meltable for toddlers who are learning to eat. Sustitute your favorite buscuit recipe if you don't like Bisquick.

Mix in the food processor, form into balls with your hand, put on non-stick cookie sheets or a pizza stone, and bake at 350 until done. Watch very carefully to make sure they don't burn on the bottom. Makes about 1 doz biscuits. You can probababy experiment with other veggies, too, like grated carrots or very finely chopped cooked broccoli heads. Top with butter or margarine for added calories!

** I can also blend one of these babies in the Magic Bullet blender and serve as a yummy puree if she is not in the mood to chew that day.

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apple_dumpling

· #2 · Apr 10, 2006

:

Thank you for posting these!!!!

I know your dd is a bit older, but does she drink the smoothie out of a bottle or cup? My dd (almost 14 months) is not interested in a cup of any sort yet. I can't get her to take anything spoon fed either! She just wants to pick stuff up, and if she gets two bites of something in her mouth and keeps it in there I consider that a success.

Hopefully there will be some more great recipes!

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VikingKvinna

· #3 · Apr 10, 2006

I sometimes make "Oatmeal in a Cup." You need a pretty heavy duty blender for it, though -- I have a VitaMix. But you could probably experiment with cooking the oats first, and then blending. I take two tablespoons of uncooked steel-cut oats, put them in the VM with half an apple and a cup or so of soymilk (or cow's milk, or half and half), then sprinkled with cinnamon and a teaspoon of sucanat (or honey or molasses or agave nectar). Then blend the whole thing until it's liquified and slightly warm (or warm in the microwave/on the stove). You may need to adjust the amounts to get it thin/thick enough. DS used to drink it out of a little cup -- it's like a warm oatmeal smoothie. Sticky and messy -- and be sure to rinse the blender container and the cup out immediately afterwards -- but filling and tasty and nutritious.

apple dumpling, another idea for finger foods is to make little patties -- bean burgers, or brown rice burgers, or what have you. Mash the beans and blend with raw egg and wheat germ or flax seed, until it's stiff enough to hold in little balls or patty shapes, then fry (in butter or EVOO if you are trying to add calories) and cool. These are also good for dipping, if/when your DC is into dipping.

hth!

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Ex Libris

· #4 · Apr 10, 2006

I've been experimenting with "ice cream" in my blender. Right now ds likes strawberry.

1 cup frozen strawberries (or any other frozen fruit)
1/2 cup or so of milk or cream (to desired consistency)
sweetner (optional)
dash of vanilla (optional)

I've even added a bit of flax seeds/oil or sesame seeds to it, or any other nutritious thing that he won't notice me sticking in there. You could add a frozen banana, too, since she likes them. I always make extra so I can have some, too!

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apple_dumpling

· #5 · Apr 10, 2006

I love all of these ideas! Off to the grocery store tomorrow in hopes that I can get her to take more than one bite of something!!!

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timneh_mom

· #6 · Apr 10, 2006

I've put avocado in smoothies for my son (17 mo tomorrow) along with sweeter fruit such as pear or banana. It's the only way I can get him to eat avocado!

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USAmma

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by apple_dumpling

She stopped eating by mouth at about 6 mos old and didn't drink anything again until well over a year old. At that point we figured it was useless to start her back on bottles so we encouraged a straw cup and a sippy cup. The Take and Toss sippies are the easiest for them to learn how to use. No valve to suck hard on but it won't pour into a baby's mouth and overwhelm them either.

My dd didn't agree to spoon feeding until way after she had started finger feeding. Just follow her cues and she'll get there.

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late-night nan

· #8 · Apr 11, 2006

you can add healthy calories by diluting coconut oil in hot or warm water and adding to smoothies, or you can fry eggs or other things directly in coconut oil.

our mainstream nutritionist also recommended adding powdered milk to ds's drinks, but I would advise against it, based on the advice of our friend who is a holistic nutritionist. the processing of milk breaks down the proteins and damages it, which lets it pass through the stomach wall and can exhaust the immune system.

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reeseccup

· #9 · Apr 11, 2006

I use coconut milk, kefir or goat milk instead of cream in our smoothies. I've also toyed at adding avocados (and found a yummy sounding avocado smoothie recipe). I'm blessed that my kids love to experiment and don't mind trying something different.

I also use quinoa flakes for a different flavor/textured cereal instead of oatmeal, and have wirred it up and added to pancakes as part of the flour. I may try and wirr it up[put in bullet

] and make a "cream of quinoa" cereal either with the flakes or whole grain.

I use a lot of black beans, usually I refry them. If i'm trying to be quick, I toss all the ingredients in the bullet and then reduce moisture down in a pan.

I use mushrooms a lot as a healthy and good source of protein filler(cooked only since raw doesn't digest well therefore less nutritional absorbtion), my 2 younger ones "ewwwww" at mushrooms so I'll decieve (shame on me

) by dicing up the mushrooms before cooking, when asked what "that" is, I simply say "flavoring".

I do use a lot of garlic, onions, nutritional yeast (the 3 plus some white pepper, seasalt, and some milk makes a great cream sauce for veggies/pasta/rice)

oh another, a cream sauce (above) with hard boiled eggs (dice up the whites and add to the cream sauce (add finely diced veggies that have been carmalized if desiered), and pour cream sauce over toast with the yolks sliced and placed on the toast(or biscuits). Some people put the yolk in the cream sauce as well, or omit all together.

that's all i can think of right now.

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Alkenny

· #10 · Apr 11, 2006

Is she only eating pureed foods or can she handle chunkier things and finger foods? There was a thread here awhile back about a toddler snack tray that had alot of good ideas in it.

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USAmma

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 11, 2006

Great ideas so far, thanks! I bought an avocado to mix with pears. Let's see if she takes it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alkenny
Is she only eating pureed foods or can she handle chunkier things and finger foods? There was a thread here awhile back about a toddler snack tray that had alot of good ideas in it.

It really depends on the food. She can handle some things like tiny bits of toast, banana, buscuit, and she loves crunchy foods. She can also handle purees if they are almost like soup. What she can't handle are foods that are sticky or "gobby". Like with oatmeal I have to really milk it down, even pudding has to be milked down if I give her the commercial stuff.

I'll look for the link. Thanks!

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